International Regulation of Emerging Military Technologies
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
September 5-6, 2014


Case Western Reserve University School of Law will host a major symposium on “International Regulation of Emerging Military Technologies” on September 5, 2014.

The conference is being organized by the Consortium on Emerging Military Technologies, Military Operations, and National Security (CETMONS), directed by CWRU Law Professor Maxwell Mehlman, and the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center, which is directed by Interim Dean Michael Scharf.

The conference is made possible by a generous grant of the Wolf Family Foundation and support from the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence.

The conference will feature prominent experts in military technology, operations, and ethics, along with experts in international law and arms control, who will discuss appropriate ways to regulate four categories of emerging technology: autonomous robotic weapons, military use of genomic science, cyber-warfare, and non-lethal weaponry. Articles by the speakers will be published in a special double issue of the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law.

Mission:

CETMONS is an independent, private organization comprised of institutions and individuals in academia, the military and other branches of government, and the private sector who are engaged in research, teaching, public education and outreach, policy-making, and policy advising on ethical, legal, social, and policy issues raised by emerging military technologies. CETMONS stimulates collaborative research and other productive activities among its members and assists them in sharing their work products and disseminating them to appropriate decision-makers and to the public.

What is CETMONS?

A multi-institutional organization dedicated to providing the basis for the ethical, rational, and responsible understanding and management of the complex set of issues raised by emerging technologies and their use in military operations, as well as their broader implications for national security.

Combines research, teaching, outreach, public service and participation in policy development in order to support creation of a secure, ethical, and rational future for national and global society in an era of unprecedented and complex technological evolution.

Why CETMONS?

Technology developed for military purposes has the potential to deeply destabilize existing economic, social, military, cultural, and technological systems.

New weapons and means of fighting wars will introduce ethical dilemmas, and bring profound changes to all aspects of society. We must understand not just for their operational, but their strategic and cultural, implications.

CETMONS Goals

Produce informative, responsible, and ethical responses to complex challenges arising from technologies driven by military and security needs.

Enable management of the complex relationship between emerging technologies and consequential social implications.

Enhance long term military advantage and national security

CETMONS Impact

Crucial in today’s era of unprecedented and complex technological evolution.

Necessary to understand and support military operations and national security in a complicated, violent, and rapidly changing world.

Fully Autonomous Weapons Threaten Rights in Peace, War

from: HRW Press

(Geneva, May 12, 2014) – Fully autonomous weapons, or “killer robots,” would jeopardize basic human rights, whether used in wartime or for law enforcement, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today, on the eve of the first multilateral meeting on the subject at the United Nations.

The 26-page report, “Shaking the Foundations: The Human Rights Implications of Killer Robots,” is the first report to assess in detail the risks posed by these weapons during law enforcement operations, expanding the debate beyond the battlefield. Human Rights Watch found that fully autonomous weapons would threaten rights and principles under international law as fundamental as the right to life, the right to a remedy, and the principle of dignity.